Bill Kizorek

Tuesday

The editing suites are humming as we complete the documentary films shot for three charities in Africa--Kids of Kilimanjaro, IIRR, and Women Thrive. The crews are now repacking their bags for 2011 assignments in Mali, Liberia, northern Iraq, and Sierra Leone. We will be heading out on location in 2011 to produced documentaries for Oxfam, MCE, and IRC.

Sunday

Summarizing years of dicey international travel for charities, co-author Carly Kizorek and I recounted how best to avoid the pitfalls and dangers when creating documentary films in Third-World settings. It will be available soon in Nook, Reader, iPad, and Google Editions format--available through Amazon.com.

Thursday

Kids of Kilimanjaro, which has been working with Two Parrot since April, premiered our video at their annual fundraiser in California last week. With over 220 people (and a live giraffe) in attendance, the premiere raised a record breaking $251,000 to support it's school lunch programs in Tanzania.

Saturday

Bill Kizorek is welcomed by the Green School in Bali this week. The school, which opens in September 2008, is committed to fostering a spirit of inquiry and a love of learning that prepares students to thrive in the challenging, complex 21st-century world.

Tuesday

As a video producer, mostly of films about global charities, I travel all the time. In the last 10 months, I worked in Jordan, Ghana, Cambodia, Thailand, Congo and Rwanda.

According to the Travelers’ Century Club and its “official list of countries,” I have been in 150 countries. But according to the “official list of nations,” published by International Travel News, I have been in only 108.

While I am on the ground doing my job, I can get absolutely filthy. And I unfortunately often get up close and personal with various insects, including tsetse flies, malarial mosquitoes and fire ants. My wife demands that I don’t bring any of those bugs home in my luggage. She doesn’t want me to get sick from their bites, either.

To help keep my marriage blissful, I take precautions. Last year, I got $750 worth of inoculations, and could have broken the $1,000 mark if I opted for polio and rabies shots and a couple more shots the travel clinic wanted me to get.

I also wear special pants, shirts and socks that repel insects. On a recent five-hour trek through the Congo to see the silverback gorillas, those bug-resistant clothes saved me from the jaws of some aggressive Congolese ants.

Safety is another issue. In Ghana this year, my taxi was rear-ended by an out-of-control semi truck. We landed in a drainage ditch, and I had to kick out the rear window to escape.

I have also been the target of pickpockets. In Argentina, some thieves tried to use the “squirt mustard, let me help you wipe it off” ruse. That entails one thief, usually a woman, squirting mustard on your shirt, while another female thief immediately approaches you with tissues to help you wipe it off while poking her hand in your pocket.

There have been some wild travel moments. Once, before taking off from Rangoon (now called Yangon) to Bangladesh in a Boeing 707, an ashen-faced lady in front knelt on the seat, as if in prayer. She said she overheard the co-pilot tell the captain they should not try to fly the plane. According to her, the captain replied that they had no choice since there were no parts available in Burma (now Myanmar) to repair the plane. We flew under 5,000 feet all the way to Dhaka, and, fortunately, landed safely.

On another flight, I subdued an out-of-control female passenger who hit two attendants in the face. She wasn’t psychotic, but she was dehydrated. I made her drink three big glasses of water. She promptly fell asleep, only to awaken one hour later asking to be my girlfriend. My wife would frown on that. She went back to sleep, and woke up again as I was handing her over to some F.B.I. agents in Anchorage three hours later.

I often witness poverty and the human desperation that comes with it. Many people in other countries view America and Americans as boorish and insensitive. But I beam with pride that so many Americans are changing that view by helping those less fortunate, either by donations of money or services. In my own small way, I hope that I am helping to foster a positive perception of my countrymen. That’s important — so important that putting up with dehydrated passengers, subpar planes and those insects becomes just part of a day’s work.

By Bill Kizorek, as told to Joan Raymond. E-mail: joan.raymond@nytimes.com.

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About Bill Kizorek

Bill is the author of nine books and has appeared on, or helped produce segments for the Oprah Show, 20/20, BBC (radio and television), A&E Channel, AM Singapore and all four major US television networks. His travel to over 150 countries gives him a truly global perspective to report from.